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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican prosecutors will investigate officials who under the previous government handled a “discredited” probe into the 2014 disappearance of 43 student teachers, the attorney general’s office said on Saturday. The abduction and apparent massacre of the trainee teachers by corrupt police working with a drug gang sparked international condemnation of Mexico and seriously damaged the reputation of then-president Enrique Pena Nieto. Last week, his successor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said the government would file a complaint to the attorney general over the release from prison of one of the main suspects behind the Sept. 26, 2014, disappearances. A judge ordered the release of Gildardo Lopez Astudillo, the gang leader blamed for ordering the killing of the students, after finding that officials had tortured him to obtain evidence. In a statement, the attorney general’s office said that a special prosecutor’s office … [Read more...] about Mexico to probe officials over 2014 case of 43 missing students

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday accused Iran of leading attacks on Saudi oil plants that have cut the kingdom’s output roughly in half, as he ruled out Yemeni involvement and denounced Tehran for engaging in false diplomacy. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks after his meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo at the State Department in Washington, U.S., September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed credit for the attacks on two plants at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, including the world’s biggest petroleum processing facility. Pompeo, however, said on Twitter that there was no evidence the attacks came from Yemen. “Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy,” Pompeo said, referring to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif. … [Read more...] about U.S. blames Iran for Saudi attacks, ‘pretend’ diplomacy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said on Saturday he was seeking the support of U.S. lawmakers for the demands of his fellow protesters who have led months of streets demonstrations, including a call for free elections. Wong, who spoke to Reuters in New York ahead of a planned visit to Washington, led Hong Kong’s pro-democracy “Umbrella Movement” in 2014 and has been at the forefront of the latest protests, which started over a now-withdrawn extradition bill but grew into demands for greater democracy and independence from mainland China. “We hope ... for bipartisan support,” Wong said of his trip to Washington, adding that U.S. lawmakers should demand the inclusion of a human rights clause in ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations. He said he also hoped to convince members of Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would require an annual justification of the special treatment that for … [Read more...] about Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong seeks U.S. support for protests

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - West African leaders have pledged $1 billion to combat the spiraling threat of Islamist militancy in the region, the head of the regional ECOWAS bloc said on Saturday. Groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold across the arid Sahel region this year, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking local ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso. The fifteen members of the West African bloc and the presidents of Mauritania and Chad had gathered for an extraordinary summit in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ougadougou, to address the growing insecurity. ECOWAS President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said the commission had decided to “contribute financially and urgently to joint efforts in the fight against terrorism” by pledging $1 billion. In a speech following the closed meeting, Brou also called on the United Nations to strengthen its MINUSMA peacekeeping mission, which has been based in Mali … [Read more...] about West African leaders pledge $1 billion to fight Islamist threat

NASSAU (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Humberto lashed already devastated parts of the Bahamas with heavy rain and strong winds before crawling northwest on Saturday, and forecasters said it was likely to become a hurricane before the end of the weekend. The storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 km per hour), is expected to move well offshore of the east coast of Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean through early next week, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Forecasters said the storm could drop up to six inches (15.24 cm) of rain in some areas of the Bahamas through Monday, but it did not produce a dangerous storm surge in the northwestern islands, which were hammered earlier this month by Hurricane Dorian. Humberto could, however, complicate relief efforts in the area where thousands of structures were flattened and 70,000 people were left needing shelter, food and water and medical aid. Dorian slammed into the Bahamas on Sept. 1 as a Category 5 … [Read more...] about Tropical Storm Humberto lashes Bahamas, U.N. chief views…